


Christmas Is for Children

by viceindustrious



Category: RocknRolla (2008)
Genre: Advent Challenge 2010, Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2011-06-20
Updated: 2011-06-20
Packaged: 2017-10-20 14:25:06
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 634
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/213719
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/viceindustrious/pseuds/viceindustrious
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>It isn't right for a little kiddie not to have a proper Christmas.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Christmas Is for Children

**Author's Note:**

> Written for day four of the adventchallenge. Prompt: Childhood. Combined with unsettledink 's prompt for something gen-ish with either Archy or Johnny. ♥

It isn't right for a little kiddie not to have a proper Christmas.

Archy doesn't know what he was he was thinking. Well, no. He _wasn't_ thinking, was he? Not about Lenny and Johnny and the year plus change that's gone by since the kid's mum passed away, god bless her.

If Len was going to snap out of it, it would have happened by now. The voice in Archy's head that said, hard nosed bastard though Len was, he couldn't keep acting like John was a pain in the arse at best and a vile fucking millstone round his neck at the worst, had gone silent.

But Archy wouldn't be anywhere without Lenny. Or he'd be somewhere all right, doing bird in a five by five cell or still stuck in that dinky room above the fish and chip shop down Lewisham way.

He doesn't want to think about it and if he has to, he trots out some old gem like – a bit of tough love never hurt nobody, but still, Christmas is for the kiddies isn't it?

Last year he'd been dating some model bird who'd done his place up for the holidays, silver and white, a pre-decorated tree, all designer bollocks. He didn't see the point. Christmas just meant you had more fake handbags flying off the back of lorries or wasters trying it on, asking for 'one more day' when their payments were due and invoking the spirit of the season as if he gave a fuck about that.

( _Do I look like I'm having a holly, jolly Chistmas time?_ _he asks one particular intellectual giant after he's heard too many sob stories that day already and the tosser seems to disagree, as far as Archy can tell through his broken nosed snivelling_.)

They had Lenny round for dinner though and Johnny too and Archy didn't mind the decorations so much then.

Didn't mind and then he started thinking that they should have done it properly, because the look on the kids face seeing the tree? He did look like a _kid_ then. Archy knew there was no way Len had a tree up at his place. He would've kept Johnny at school if he could figure out how to swing it.

Johnny's face made Archy think back to sitting in front of a coal fire and shivering, waiting for the room to heat up while his mum and dad pottered about in the kitchen making tea. Tree standing in one corner, lopsided and tangled with multicoloured lights and mismatched ornaments from a dozen Christmases past.

Christmas wasn't supposed to be stylish. Maybe it wouldn't even fit into his apartment here, looking over the black, still water of the Royal Dock, everything in glass or chrome. But he doesn't know why he's thinking about it. It's not like he can ask Lenny if he can have the boy round. He'd think he was going soft in the head or something.

The wrapping paper definitely looks out of place, red and green sticking out of the plastic bag on the dark, leather sofa. There's a pair of kids football boots in there too, and some sellotape.

He ends up using the entire roll and sticking down whatever parts look like they need sticking. The result being a somewhat less than stellar example of gift wrapping, but turning over the lumpen package in his hands, Archy can't stop a grin of satisfaction from spreading across his face.

Danny's got a son of his own, they can take the lads out for a kick about sometime, can't they?

-

And they do. Every other Sunday, right up until Mr. Sidney Shaw gives the testimony that puts Archy away. By the time he gets out, Johnny's found more interesting games to play than football.


End file.
